Thread control for weft replenishing looms



Nov. 21, 1950 R. G. TURNER.

THREAD CONTROL FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Filed May 17, 1949 INVENTOR RICHARD G. TURNER ATTORNEY.

Irw M I I I I Patented Nov. 21, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THREAD CONTROL FOR WEFT REPLENISHINlG LQOMS Richard G. 'llarner, W0rcester,.Mass., zassignor-to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 1'7, 1949, Serial No. 93,792

' :This invention. relates to improvements in threadcontrol meansfor weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide simple means by which the thread of a freshly transferred bobbin can be placed favorably for threading of the shuttle when the latter'is' picked and then moved to a position favorable for cooperation with the center filling stop fork.

In weft replenishing looms bobbin transfer ordinarily occurs when the lay is on front center and the freshly transferred bobbin is picked during backward motion of the lay when the 'latter is. at or near its top center position. At the time of picking the thread of the incoming bobbin should be so located as to facilitate the first stage of shuttle threadin as the shuttle moves towardthe opposite side of the loom. Many looms are provided with a center filling stop motion fork under which a Weft thread must pass to prevent .loom stoppage. If the thread of the incoming bobbin is far to the rear in order to aid shuttle threading it is likely not to get under the fork and as aresult the loom will be stopped.

Itis an important object of the'present invention to provide means which will place the thread of the transferred bobbin in a rearward position during part of the backward motion of the lay to assist the shuttle to thread, and thereafter during continued backward motion of the provide a cast ofi' member, which may be upi wardly and rearwardly inclined, to engage the thread and lift it from the moving member as the-lay approaches its back center position, preferably while the shuttle is still in motion. The

thread holder may if desired be of the pneumatic type, in which event the holder itself will exert a pull :on the thread tending to move it under the fillin fork, and when such a thread holder is used it is not so important that the thread be cast off the thread mover while the shuttle l is in motion. When a non-retrieving thread holder is employed, however, it may be desirable to-effec-t cast-off before the shuttle finally comes to rest in its travel across the lay.

With these-and other objects in view which will appear as: the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts. hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of the invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of part of a weft replenishing loom having the invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3--3, Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a plan view looking in the direction of arrow l, Fig, 3, the thread collector being shown in section, and

Figs. 5 and 6 are diagrammatic views illustrating the manner in which the invention operates.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the loom frame [0 supports a reserve bobbin magazine M containing in the present instance front and back stacks H and 62 of reserve bobbins from which weft ends W extend to a thread holder H. The latter may be of the pneumatic type, although this is not essential for all uses of the invention, but when the holder is of that type it Will be associated with an air pump it! operated by the reciprocating lay Hi to create subatmospheric pressures in a tube l5 as the lay moves rearwardly. Tube i5 is connected to the top of a thread collector C the lower end of which is connected, as by a pipe it, to the holder H. The collector is mounted on a base or support i1 carried by a bracket l8 secured as at is to the 100m frame. The pneumatic sys tem shown in Figs. 1 and 2 operates intermittently to create a partial vacuum in the thread holder H during backward motion of the lay, but the invention is not limited to an intermit tently acting pneumatic thread holder.

"The magazine includes in its construction a transferrer arm 20 having attached thereto a latch 21 normally below a hunter 22 on the lay but raised into the path of the latter when a replenishing operation is to occur to lower the transferrer arm and move the reserve bobbin "under it into the shuttle S as the lay reaches front center. At the time of bobbin transfer the thread '1 of the freshly transferred bobbin,

designated at B in Fig. 2, extends downwardly from the thread holder along a path inclined toward the center of the loom. As shown in designated generally at to pick the replenished shuttle S from the shuttle box 26 as the lay is moving rearwardly and is at or near its top center position.

The lay, see Fig. 6, is provided with a center filling fork 28 which operates in the usual manner and is mounted for pivotal motion on the front part of the lay forward of the path traversed by the shuttle when it is picked. This fork is ordinarily raised when the shuttle passes it and is lowered as the lay moves forwardly. If it falls on and is supported by a thread under it loom operation continues, but if there is no thread under the fork the latter continues its downward motion toeffect loom stopping.

From the matter thus described it will be understood that bobbin transfer occurs when the lay is at its front center position, the thread T is detached from and below the group of weft ends W, the replenished shuttle is picked as the lay is at or near its top center position, and the shuttle continues to travel along the lay to the opposite side of the loom for a period of time which will ordinarily continue until after the lay has reached its back center position. While in its flight the shuttle passes behind the filling fork 23. During backward motion of the lay the thread T is subjected to pneumatic traction at the thread holder. The freshly transferred shuttle should be at least partially threaded during its pick immediately after replenishment, and the thread T should extend under the fork 28.

In carrying the present invention into effect the lay has secured thereto a thread moving memher or the like designated at 38. This thread mover may be secured as at 3| to a part of the lay and has a rearwardly extending wing 32 the rear edge 33 of which traverses a path below the weft ends W but crossing the path of thread T. The upper end of rear surface or edge 33 may have a slight notch or detent 34 if desired. A cast-off or releasing member 35 is secured as at 36 to the base or stand I! of the thread collector and has a finger 3'5 which is inclined downwardly and forwardly. This finger is offset from the moving member in the direction of the length of the lay and extends upwardly to a point above the top of the thread mover 30. Its lower end is preferably below the thread T. The cast-off member overhangs part of the lay as the latter approaches its rear or back center position.

In the operation of the invention a bobbin will be transferred into the shuttle as already described and will have its thread T extending from the thread holder down to the shuttle along a diagonal path in front of the cast-off member 35 and behind the thread mover 38. As the lay moves rearwardly, the thread holder remaining stationary, the mover 36 will overtake the thread T and move it rearwardly so that when the shuttle is picked when the lay is on top center position the thread will be kept in a position more or less in line with the shuttle as the lay continues to move rearwardly, thereby holding the thread T in a position favorable for the first step in the thread of the shuttle. After the shuttle has continued its flight along the lay far enough for the first threading step to have occurred the mover 30 will move the thread T up along finger 3'? of member 35 and the latter due to the fact that it extends above the mover 36 eventually casts the thread T off the mover 30 as the lay approaches its rearmcst position. The thread T is free to be straightened out partly by pneumatic attraction at the thread holder H and partly by reason of the 4 fact that the shuttle is continuing to move along the lay.

Figs. 5 and 6 indicate diagrammatically how the invention operates. With the lay on front center in position I, the thread T will be in the path of the mover 3E) and as the lay moves rearwardly to picking position II the mover 30 overtakes and engages the thread and produces a bend in it as suggested in dotted lines Fig. 5.

'As the lay continues to move rearwardly to position III the member 35 will cast the thread off the mover 3!! so that the thread extends from the holder H to the shuttle along some such path as indicated in dot and dash line a. As the shuttle continues to move it passes the filling fork and when the lay is in some such position as indicated at IV, Fig. 6, the thread T will be under the fork 28. The thread holder H is forward of the filling fork in position IV, and the shuttle in attempting to draw the thread in a straight line from the holder will draw it under the fork. When the holder His of the pneumatic type there will be an additional force tending to draw the thread taut and under the fork.

The wing 32 of the mover 30 is purposely broadened as indicated for instance in Fig. 3 so that any whip of the thread as it is drawn toward the thread holder when subsequently cut will prevent the thread from wrapping around the thread mover.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth simple means including a thread mover on the lay and a cast-off member in stationary position effective to cause the thread of the transferred bobbin to remain in position favorable for shuttle threading during part of the backward motion of the lay subsequent to picking, and thereafter effective to release the thread so that it can be straightened sufficiently to pass under the filling fork 28. The thread can be attached either to a pneumatic thread holder H as shown herein, or any other convenient form of thread holder, but if the thread holder be of the non-retrieving type it is desirable that the casting off of the thread be effected while the shuttle is still in motion. This will ordinarily be true in the usual form of fly shuttle loom in which the shuttle is still in motion when the lay reaches its back center position.

Having thus described the invention it will be seen that changes and modifications of the foregoing specific disclosure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invenion,

What is claimed as new is:

1. In thread control means for a weft replenishing loom having a lay provided with a center filling stop fork and wherein a thread extends from a transferred bobbin in a shuttle on the lay to a thread holder, the shuttle being picked during backward motion of the lay and traveling along the lay as the latter moves to the back center position thereof, a thread moving member on the lay in front of said thread moving the latter rearwardly during part of the backward motion of the lay to facilitate threading of the shuttle, and a cast-off member effective as the lay approaches the back center position thereof to disengage the thread from the moving memher, the shuttle due to motion thereof along the lay thereupon cooperating with the thread holder to draw the thread under the fillin stop fork.

2. In a thread control for a weft replenishing loom having a reciprocating lay provided with a center filling stop fork and wherein a thread motion thereof subsequent to picking cooperating with the thread holder to move the thread under the filling stop fork.

3. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay provided with a center filling stop fork and wherein a thread extends from a thread holder to a freshly replenished shuttle on the lay, said thread to have a part thereof in one position relative to the lay favorable for threading of the shuttle when the latter is picked and said part of the thread to be in another position forward of said one position favorable for movement of the thread under said filling fork, a moving member on the lay in front of the thread moving said part of the thread to said one position during backward motion of the lay, and a releasing member effective as the lay continues to move backwardly to disengage said part of the thread from said moving member while the shuttle is in flight incident to picking thereof, the shuttle and thread holder thereupon cooperating to move said part of the thread to said other position thereof.

4. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay provided with a center filling stop fork and wherein a thread extends from a thread holder to a freshly replenished shuttle on the lay, said thread to be in one position relative to the lay favorable for threading the shuttle when the latter is picked and said thread to be in another position forward of said one position favorable for movement thereof under said filling fork, means on the lay engaging and moving the thread to said one position during backward motion of the lay, and stationary means effective during continued backward motion of the lay to disengage the thread from the first means whilethe shuttle is in flight, the thread holder and shuttle thereupon cooperating to move the thread to said other position.

5. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay provided with a center filling stop fork and wherein a thread extends from a thread holder to a freshly replenished shuttle on the lay, said thread to be in one position relative to the lay favorable for threading of the shuttle when the latter is picked and said thread to be in another position forward of said one position favorable for movement thereof toward said filling fork, means effecting positioning of the thread in said one position thereof while the shuttle is being picked, and means acting on the thread subsequent to picking of the shuttle enabling the latter while in flight to cooperate with the thread holder to move the thread to the other position thereof.

6. In a weft replenishing loom having alay provided with a center filling stop fork and wherein a thread extends from a pneumatic thread holder to a freshly replenished shuttle on the lay, said thread to be in one position relative to the lay favorable for threading of the shuttle when the latter is picked and said thread to be in another position forward of said one position favorable for movement thereof under said filling fork, and control means for the thread including a part on the lay in front of the thread and an upwardly and rearwardly inclined part back of the thread, said part on the lay engaging the thread and moving the latter to said one position and said other part thereafter engaging the thread and disengaging the same from the first part during backward motion of the lay, the shuttle due to motion thereof along the lay and the thread holder due to pneumatic attraction of the thread cooperating to move the thread to said other position thereof.

RICHARD G. TURNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 724,120 Northrop Mar. 31, 1903 1,132,227 Stimpson Mar. 16, 1915 

